The National Employment Standards currently comprise 10 minimum employment entitlements that have to be provided to all employees. These 10 entitlements include things such as maximum weekly hours, annual leave, public holidays, and the provision of notice of termination and redundancy pay. The national minimum wage and the National Employment Standards make up the minimum entitlements for employees in Australia.

An award, employment contract, enterprise agreement or other registered agreement cannot provide for conditions that are less than the national minimum wage or the National Employment Standards. That is, the National Employment Standards cannot be excluded.

This proposal would add family and domestic violence leave to the National Employment Standards, which would extend the list of minimum entitlements to 11.

Family and domestic violence leave would allow all employees to take up to 10 days’ paid leave per year, with:

• employees other than casual employees paid at the base rate of pay
• casual employees paid at the base rate plus any casual loading for the hours of work in the period for which the employee was rostered.

The proposal would have effect from 1 July 2019